SEARCA News

Quezon City, Philippines –The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and the Centre on Integrated Rural Development in Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP) invited SEARCA to present the Piloting and Up-scaling Effective Models of Inclusive and Sustainable Agricultural and Rural Development (ISARD) project in a forum on inclusive innovations for development impacts. This is a collaborative activity aimed at raising awareness on inclusive innovations adopted by governments, private sector, and other stakeholders towards promoting sustainable rural livelihoods, advancing working strategy to scale-up these innovations for better outreach and achieving desired impacts, and fostering stronger linkages and partnership to further rural development… Read more

A scientist, research manager, and teacher in national and international public and private institutions, SEARCA Director Dr. Glenn B. Gregorio was awarded as Crop Science Society of the Philippines (CSSP) Honorary Fellow. Dr. Gregorio was recognized for his significant contributions to crop science through his pioneering breeding research. These include having led the development of at least 20 rice varieties with tolerance to abiotic stresses while at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) as Senior Plant Breeder. His studies on the genetics and molecular mapping for salinity tolerance, and his development of rapid screening techniques resulted in the first batches… Read more

Pasig City, Philippines – The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and the Regional Development Group of National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) jointly organized a Local Stakeholders’ Meeting-Workshop for NEDA Regional Directors and Assistant Directors at the NEDA Executive Lounge, Pasig City on 20 September 2019. This meeting-workshop is part of a study being implemented by SEARCA under the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)-funded Project “Rural Regional Transformation: Pathways, Policy Sequencing and Development Outcomes in China, the Philippines, and Vietnam (RRT)”. The event is a supplemental validation of the study, allowing high-level… Read more

Twenty legislators and more than 100 of their staff from the Philippine House of Representatives joined the Forum on the Global Status of Biotechnology held on September 9, 2019. Dr. Carl Ramage, CEO & Managing Director of Rautaki Solutions and Dr. Saturnina Halos, President of the Biotechnology Coalition of the Philippines (BCP) discussed the global and local biotech trends focusing on genome editing and biotech regulations. Richard Torno, a biotech corn farmer from the province of Pampanga, shared his experiences in planting biotech corn and its potential to uplift the lives of Filipino farmers. The legislators raised their concerns. They… Read more

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna - The 2019 FSC Summer School, jointly organized by SEARCA and the Food Security Center (FSC) of the University of Hohenheim, Germany, opened on 9 September 2019 with Module 1 on Precision Agriculture having Dr. José Paulo Molin as resource person. This year's summer school, with the theme "Transformative Changes in Agriculture and Food Systems," aims to explore advances in technology and the contribution of food and agriculture systems innovation to realize SDG 2: Zero Hunger. Nineteen graduate students from South and Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America from diverse academic background came to participate in this… Read more

“The reality of digitalizing agriculture is won or lost at the farmer level, where applicability and sustainability have to be tested,” Dr. Glenn B. Gregorio, Director of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), told more than 350 scientists, researchers, and educators at the opening of the 25th Federation of Crop Science Societies of the Philippines (FCSSP) and the 1st Federation of Plant Science Association of the Philippines (FPSAP) Scientific Conference in Davao City on 17 September 2019. FPSAP is composed of the Crop Science Society of the Philippines, the Philippine Seed Industry Association… Read more

HONG KONG, China – SEARCA Scholar Engr. Philip Donald C. Sanchez attended the 12th FRUTIC Conference held in Asia World Expo, Lantau, Hong Kong, China on September 4-6, 2019 with the theme "Innovations in Pre- and Postharvest Supply Chain of Fresh Produce." The conference discussed the agriculture sector's recent market trends and challenges specifically for fruits and vegetables. Related areas such as crop management, packaging, innovations, and mechanizations were likewise discussed in the conference. Besides the research presentations, there were also exhibits from worldwide leaders in export, import, and handling of produce making the conference a melting pot of academicians… Read more

MATAAS NA KAHOY, Batangas – Fifty-two SEARCA Scholars based in UP Los Baños attended the team building activity on 8 September 2019 at Shercon Resort and Ecology Park. This activity is regularly conducted by SEARCA through the Graduate Education and Institutional Development Department (GEIDD) to welcome new and continuing scholars and enable them to socialize with the rest of their peers at the start of the semester. Four teams, namely, Love Team, Yellow Sun, Green Champs, and Blue Sky competed in eight activities. The first activity Meron o Wala tested their communication skills. The mechanics of the game required each… Read more

Dr. Glenn B. Gregorio, Director of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), presented to Philippine Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Leonor M. Briones the Center's programs that can promote agriculture through the K to 12 curriculum during his courtesy visit on 28 August 2019. Dr. Gregorio highlighted the School-Plus-Home Gardens Project (S+HGP), a SEARCA initiative that revived and revitalized DepEd's school garden program. The project was piloted in one high school and five elementary under DepEd in Laguna province to test the effectiveness of an integrated, participatory, and science-based approach to school gardening… Read more

LOS BAÑOS Laguna, Philippines – In a joint move towards steering resilient communities in the country's agricultural sector, the Southeast Asian Regional Centre for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture and the Embassy of France in the Philippines gathered 47 experts in a two-day "Forum on Reducing Disaster Risk towards a Resilient Agricultural Sector" on 29-30 August 2019 at the SEARCA headquarters. Members of the academe, farmer group leaders, agriculturists (local, municipal, provincial), disaster risk reduction and management practitioners, private sector and non-government organization representatives, national and local government officials and staff, international development organizations participated in this event. The… Read more